$43.8 million, abstract art & Paul Allen

The painting above, by Barnett Newman (1905-1970), went up for auction yesterday on behalf of its owner, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and sold for $43.8 million. (The sale price reportedly was far and above what folks had estimated it might garner.)

Details of the sale are all over the Internet today, but it first came to our attention via a post by John Cook at Geek Wire, who noted that Allen “must have a pretty good eye for investing in art.” Amen.

The price set a record for a Newman painting sold at auction.

The painting is huge, 81⁄2 feet by 10 feet. And it’s certainly a rich blue.

We have to admit, though, that we don’t know much about abstract expressionism. Newman wrote a lot about it.

The only thing we know for sure is this: $43.8 million is a lot of money.

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The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.